Want something to do every weekend from now until the end of the summer? Have about $200-$500 in tax return and economic stimulus plan checks burning a hole in your bank account? Do you love movies?!? Look no further, it’s the mikull.com 2008 Summer Movie Guide.

I’m not going to waster your time — my views and anecdotes are amusing, but let me be clear: The Dark Knight is currently my #1 must-see pick for the summer. As for everything else? Well, you’re going to have to do some work. Eyeball work, because I typed stuff — and now you have to read it. My top 20 summer movies, plus 10 honorable mentions after the jump.

• Iron Man
  May 2nd • Directed by Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura) • Starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
  Marvel is up and down with character franchises, so I think I was justly skeptical about this one. On the other hand, this is written post-release, and the reviews coming in our calling this awesome; let this be a lesson to you while reading the rest of my intial thought below.
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• Speed Racer
  May 9th • Directed by Larry & Andy Wachowski (The Matrix Trilogy) • Starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox
  OK, one thing is for sure: this movie will look amazing if you’re tripping. I was never a fan of Speed Racer, so I’m really interested in this. Innocent bystander POV: kiddie lamesness that will be fun a couple of years from now on a broadcast station’s movie night.
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• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
  May 16th • Directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) • Starring Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Warwick Davis
  I would not go to the theater to see this, because I felt really burned by the first movie. This could be completely awesome, but it’s going to take some good reviews to sway me.
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• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  May 22nd • Directed by Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Munich) • Starring Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent
  C’mon people - this is Spielberg and Lucas handing us Harrison Ford as Indy once again. Looks awesome, despit the flaws. You simply need to realize that you’re not gong to get an award winning drama when you got to see a staurday-afternoon-serial recreation.
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• Sex and the City: The Movie
  May 30th • Directed by Michael Patrick King • Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Hudson
  For the love of God, NO… and don’t hand me no lip; I listed it, didn’t I? Now begone.
  
  
• Kung Fu Panda
  June 6th • Directed by Mark Osborne & John Stevenson • Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane
  Jack Black and animation. Looks like a lot of fun, although I would most likely wait for Netflix or cable.
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• You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
  June 6th • Directed by Dennis Dugan (Saving Silverman, The Benchwarmers, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) • Starring Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Alex Luria, Emmanuelle Chriqui
  Wow, this doesn’t look very good at all. It’s your typical Adam Sandler movie for the summer.
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• The Happening
  June 13th • Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village) • Starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin
  I like Sham-lama-ding dong’s other movies, so I mildly interesting here — but the overall premise seems lackluster. Waiting to hear more before I commit.
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• The Incredible Hulk
  June 13th • Directed by Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, Unleashed) • Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson
  Ed Norton smash. CGI looks pretty bad. I want this to be really cool, but so far this looks to disappoint.
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• Get Smart
  June 20th • Directed by Peter Segal (Naked Gun 33 1/3, Anger Management, 50 First Dates) • Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Terence Stamp, Alan Arkin
  Steve Carell is funny, but not funny enough to entice me over to this revamp. Then again, I never really watched Get Smart, so I have not attachment. For me this is a cable / Netflix watch. Bonus points for the Rock, who looks under-utilized once again.

• Wall-E
  June 27th • Directed by Andrew Stanton (A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo) • Starring Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt
  On the one hand, you really can’t go wrong with a Pixar movie. On the other hand, it’s just a robot. It looks fun though - looking forward to it, at the very least, on DVD.
  
  
• Wanted
  June 27th • Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch) • Starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Common
  Hype machine engaged to full throttle… but isn’t Jolie just a tad overrated? Why does the trailer look like the Matrix?

• Hancock
  July 2nd • Directed by Peter Berg (The Rundown, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom) • Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
  Honestly, I’ve only seen a few ads for this on TV- but somehow it looks like a lot of fun. I’m down with Will Smith. I wonder if the plot will deliver here.
  
  
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
  July 11th • Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Blade II, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) • Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Thomas Kretschmann
  I liked the comic, I liked the first movie - and weird fantasy is Guillermo’s stong point. Count me in, but this isn’t for everybody.
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• The Dark Knight
  July 18th • Directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige) • Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal
  Holy crap this looks awesome. Pick #1 of the summer. Batman Begins was amazing, the team is back. No-brainer bonus of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the role that killed him.
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• Step Brothers
  July 25th • Directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) • Starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen
  I am a sucker for Will Ferrell comedies. Some people are tired of him I suppose- but I’m always down for this type of laughter.
  
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• The X-Files 2
  July 25th • Directed by Chris Carter ("The X Files") • Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Xzibit, Billy Connolly
  I’m terribly interested to see if this turns out to be as thrilling as the first, properly reflecting the excitement of the series.
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• The Mummy 3
  August 1st • Directed by Rob Cohen (Fast and the Furious, xXx, Stealth) • Starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford
  I didn’t take the first 2 Mummy movies seriously, and thus enjoyed them immensely. This could bring back that sense of fun, but the missing Rachel Weisz will certainly hurt the experience.
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• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
  August 15th • Directed by Brian O’Connell, Dave Bullock. • Starring Matt Lanter, Anthony Daniels, Greg Ellis
  The thought of seeing a new Star Wars movie in the theater makes me extremely excited. New characters will be introduced and the fact that George Lucas is at the helm makes me feel at ease, since the Star Wars universe is his creation, after all. It will also open up the Star Wars universe to a whole new generation of kids.
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• Tropic Thunder
  August 15th • Directed by Ben Stiller (Zoolander) • Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte
  A comedy with big talent, mature themes, and wacky plotline. I’m skeptical of the entertainment factor - could be a sleeper hit, acquired taste, or both.
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Top 10 That Didn’t Make the Top 20:

The Strangers (May 30) A couple spending the night in an isolated house are terrorized by three strangers wearing masks. As the night progresses, and the strangers’ antics become more violent, and the couple realize that they must find an inner strength they never knew they had if they are to survive.

Mongol (June 6) The story of how a slave named Ghenghis Khan overcame his status to conquer and rule half the world in the 13th century.

The Love Guru (June 20) When the child of American missionaries raised by spiritual advisors in India decides to travel the world, his new career as a self-help guru is put to the test when he’s hired to help a star hockey player overcome his romantic troubles.

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (July 11) The latest film adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1864 classic novel A Journey to the Centre of the Earth set in present day and presented in 3D.

The Rocker (Aug 1) Robert “Fish” Fishman (Rainn Wilson) was living the rock ‘n roll dream as the drummer for 80’s rock heroes Vesuvius. But his dreams are short-lived when his bandmates callously kick him out. 20 years later, desperate to relive those days, Fish convinces A.D.D. • his nephew’s (Josh Gad) high school band • to take him on and introduces them to a world of rock ‘n roll mayhem.

Midnight Meat Train (Aug 1) A photographer tracks a serial killer in Manhattan’s subway system in this film based on Clive Barker’s short story.

Pineapple Express (Aug 8) An office worker visits his weed dealer during his normal shopping routine. On this visit, he tries a brand new kind that surpasses all others. While high, he witnesses a murder involving a dirty cop and a drug lord and now he and his dealer must run for their lives!

The International (Aug 15) An Interpol agent (Clive Owen) investigates a global banking institution for corruption and murder with the help of a Manhattan assistant district attorney (Naomi Watts).

Bangkok Dangerous (Aug 22) Internationally renowned hitman Joe (Nicolas Cage) is in Bangkok to pull off his latest kill. When he learns it is a political assassination, things turn sour very quickly, though he still has the time to find romance with a local woman and bond with an errand boy.

Hamlet 2 (Aug 22) Dana (Steve Coogan) is a drama teacher who can’t even make a decent play, not taking into an account that his life has literally gone to shit. In order to save the school’s drama department, he decides to create a sequel to Hamlet. Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, David Arquette, and Elizabeth Shue also star.

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